OVER 100 Ijaw women besieged the Federal High Court in Lagos to show solidarity with the former first lady Dame Patience Jonathan who is involved in a legal tussle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over her frozen bank accounts.
Earlier this month, the EFCC froze several Skye Bank accounts belonging to Dame Jonathan amid allegations that they were used for money laundering. In response, Dame Jonathan took the EFCC to court claiming the money in the accounts were gifts and ye4sterday, the case appeared before Justice Babs Kuewumi.
In solidarity with Dame Jonathan, the Ijaw women stormed the court premises, chanting songs of protest, calling for the former first lady’s accounts to be unfrozen. Respondents in the suit are the EFCC, Skye Bank and a former special assistant to ex-president Dr Goodluck Jonathan, Waripama-Owei Dudafa.
Also joined in the suit are Pluto Property and Investment Company, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company, Transocean Property and Investment Company and Globus Integrated Service. In the case, the former first lady is demanding the sum of $200m from the commission as damages for infringing on her rights.
She is also urging the court to issue an order discharging the freezing order and to restrain the EFCC and its agents from further placing a freezing order on the said accounts. When the case was called yesterday, Rotimi Oyedepo announced his appearance for the EFCC, while Granville Abibo announced his appearance for Dame Jonathan.
Addressing the court, Mr Oyedepo informed the judge that the matter was coming up for the first time, adding that some of the respondents were yet to be served with the court’s processes. He submitted that the matter was not yet ripe for hearing, having only been served with the processes on October 19 and was yet to file a response.
His submission was not contested by counsel to the plaintiff, so consequently, Justice Kuewumi fixed December 7 for hearing of the case. In an affidavit in support of the suit deposed to by Sammie Somiari, a legal practitioner, Mr Oyedepo averred that on March 22, 2010, Dame Jonathan had opened five different accounts with Skye Bank, with the aid of one Damola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi.
He also averred that the account mandate forms were duly completed and signed by her. According to him, Dame Jonathan subsequently discovered that apart from one of the accounts that bore her name, the other four accounts were opened in the name of four companies which were companies belonging to Mr Dudafa.
Mr Oyedepo averred that she also observed that the ATM cards of the said accounts were issued in the names of the companies, adding that she complained to Mr Dudafa who promised to effect the necessary changes. Mr Somiari averred further that Dame Jonathan is not a director, shareholder or participant in these companies and the funds in the said accounts were solely owned and operated by her.
Some of the women in court yesterday expressed their concern over the enforcement of women’s rights as well as those of the ex-first lady. Immediately after the court rose, they trooped to a vehicle provided by Dame Jonathan’s team, chanting songs of solidarity and boldly displaying their placards.
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